CONTENT UNLEASHED

If last week's CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment accomplished anything, it proved that the wireless data industry is no longer in the hands of the wireless data industry. While there were the usual slew of vendor announcements and new carrier services, the big news seem to come from companies that you wouldn't normally associate with wireless. ESPN, MTV, Disney and Warner Music all made headlines with announcements that often didn't even mention a wireless operator or vendor. Although at first this might seem a little disconcerting, a better thing couldn't happen to the industry. After years of trying to persuade the entertainment giants to get over their reservations and wholeheartedly embrace the wonders of the fourth screen, they're finally doing so. In the next year we're going to see short dramas series produced for the mobile phone by Fox, Warner Brothers musicians performing in QVGA-sized videos produced by MTV and whole mobile networks devoted to the ESPN and Disney family brands. Even the auteurs are getting involved. Last Week Paris's Forum des Images hosted a screening of hundreds of short movies, videos and concepts produced by filmmakers, writers and musicians, highlighting the possibility of a new artistic medium. It seems that everyone involved in entertainment from music entrepreneur to Russell Simmons to the boardrooms of the Hollywood's major studios is adopting a wireless strategy. We've had mobile content for a while, but nothing like this. While all of the smaller independent content providers and developers deserve plenty of credit for proving the technology, it's the entertainment companies' turn now. They have the vast stores of content and media savvy to make this work, and — though it's sad to say — we might just be along for the ride.